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owlsreads's reviews
3507 reviews
Fate Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
The first 40% or so were incredible! There was so much action and tension and blood :D I had so much fun reading and being back in this universe. It felt like things were coming together to what was going to be a ruthless and satisfying conclusion and then... that didn't happen.
The action dragged a bit too long with not much plot progression. It started feeling like the battle scenes were there to fill pages instead of serve a bigger purpose re character development or plot reveals. This meant I was a bit fed up when the second half started and was ready for this to get going. They didn't, really.
It took until about 80% or so for things to get interesting again in terms of the characters being where they needed to be, doing what they needed to do, for us to reach an ending. This meant the battle scenes in these final chapters were rushed and the plot twists and reveals didn't cause as much impact as they should have. I wasn't that big a fan of how some things were left open ended either--Aveyard could have done more with what she set up and some character endings felt like a cop out.
The action dragged a bit too long with not much plot progression. It started feeling like the battle scenes were there to fill pages instead of serve a bigger purpose re character development or plot reveals. This meant I was a bit fed up when the second half started and was ready for this to get going. They didn't, really.
It took until about 80% or so for things to get interesting again in terms of the characters being where they needed to be, doing what they needed to do, for us to reach an ending. This meant the battle scenes in these final chapters were rushed and the plot twists and reveals didn't cause as much impact as they should have. I wasn't that big a fan of how some things were left open ended either--Aveyard could have done more with what she set up and some character endings felt like a cop out.
A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
A fun addition to the series! In terms of relationship progression: perfect, brilliant, incredible, show-stopping. The mystery lost me a little, though I did very much enjoy the introduction of one specific new character and how it all wrapped up.
The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I read this in one sitting, so to say this was engrossing would be an understatement! The writing was very easy to get into and Emiko Jean did a fantastic job at first introducing the characters and the main mystery with Ellie's disappearance and come back.
While I didn't particularly connect with any of the characters, I did enjoy the switches in perspective and how we slowly got some pieces of the puzzle together. There were a few POV chapters that I believe could have been edited out, but even so. I did wish we had gotten less of Ellie telling/showing what happened to her and more of Chelsey finding things out through investigation as well.
The last few chapters with the final twists and reveals regarding Ellie and what she was doing also lost me a little. There were a lot of jumping around to things that hadn't been touched on and developed at all throughout the rest of the book and so it made me feel like the conclusion was very rushed and that it came out of nowhere.
While I didn't particularly connect with any of the characters, I did enjoy the switches in perspective and how we slowly got some pieces of the puzzle together. There were a few POV chapters that I believe could have been edited out, but even so. I did wish we had gotten less of Ellie telling/showing what happened to her and more of Chelsey finding things out through investigation as well.
The last few chapters with the final twists and reveals regarding Ellie and what she was doing also lost me a little. There were a lot of jumping around to things that hadn't been touched on and developed at all throughout the rest of the book and so it made me feel like the conclusion was very rushed and that it came out of nowhere.
Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation by Jen Gunter
informative
5.0
An excellent read that taught me new things! Blanket rec to any and all peeps interested in the topic of menstruation and the chaos it brings.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The first half of this book was excellent! I loved the writing style and how the story came together. The premise was so much fun and, despite my initial hesitation to read about a real life historical person fictionalized, the plot progression and very intriguing and engaging. I could have done without the interludes from Gore's perspective, though.
Things kind of went downhill for me when the romance element really came into focus. It made me uncomfortable. The second half also really packed in the time travel shenanigans and that was taken into a direction I didn't particularly enjoy. The ending was also left open, which was understandable, but I expected more from it.
Things kind of went downhill for me when the romance element really came into focus. It made me uncomfortable. The second half also really packed in the time travel shenanigans and that was taken into a direction I didn't particularly enjoy. The ending was also left open, which was understandable, but I expected more from it.
Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
All characters were horrible people and I loved it!
This was very much a slow burn that took its time to introduce and develop its characters and the family dynamics before packing on the spooky elements. It was so interesting to read about Anna and her relationship with her family and how they all ended up dealing with the haunting. There were some great creepy scenes/imagery and Anna's reaction to it all was fantastic. The ending was particularly satisfying in that regard, though I do wish we had gotten more details about the family in general.
This was very much a slow burn that took its time to introduce and develop its characters and the family dynamics before packing on the spooky elements. It was so interesting to read about Anna and her relationship with her family and how they all ended up dealing with the haunting. There were some great creepy scenes/imagery and Anna's reaction to it all was fantastic. The ending was particularly satisfying in that regard, though I do wish we had gotten more details about the family in general.
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Lovely! I had such a great time reading this. The writing here and dual perspective captured my attention right away. The way the characters and conflicts were introduced/developed was wonderful and engrossing; I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know how everything was connected! There were some subplots that tied together in unexpected ways, which only made my reading experience even better, and a few plot twists towards the ending that were extremely satisfying. My favorite Yangsze Choo book so far!
ReDawn by Brandon Sanderson, Janci Patterson
adventurous
medium-paced
3.5
Had a bit of a hard time at first getting situated and remembering the universe and all of its characters. The pace was very slow during the first half, personally, and I wasn't connecting to the characters/story. I did very much enjoy how the world-building kept expanding here and that the plot added more information and answered some questions about some things. The second half really caught my attention as the tension and action amped up and the ending was fantastic!
The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A fun, if lukewarm read. The pace was a bit too slow for me and the back and forth between the present and past timelines within the chapter POV chapter also didn't work for me. I did like the setting and everything related to the séances, however! And the ending was also satisfying and wrapped things up nicely.
A Tall Dark Trouble by Vanessa Montalban
adventurous
3.5
Really liked the magic here and the sisters' relationship! The plot regarding the main mystery with the murders was also pretty well written and engaging. My problem was that I had a bit of difficulty telling the POVs apart and the split narrative in the past timeline interrupted the flow of the main story for me.